1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for filling a device with a material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many types of equipment require certain materials, such as fluids or the like, to perform their functions properly. For example, engines, heaters, and the like may require that fuel and processing equipment use certain chemicals to produce their intended product. Such materials may be flammable, damaging to surrounding equipment, harmful to the environment, or be otherwise hazardous to personnel transferring the materials. Accordingly, it may be desirable to avoid spilling such materials and to carefully contain the materials to inhibit harm to personnel, equipment, and the environment.
It may be critical for certain types of equipment to be continuously operated. For example, chemical processing equipment may require a continuous supply of feeder chemicals for, if the supply is stopped, the equipment may have to undergo time consuming and costly cleaning and restart procedures. Further, a portion of the product being produced may be unusable if one or all of the feeder chemicals are not continuously supplied, thus increasing the overall cost of producing the product. Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide a way of refilling tanks associated with such processing equipment so that the equipment may be continuously operated.
Some equipment may also have refilling ports that are in hard to reach locations. For example, an apparatus may have a refilling port that is within a housing, such that a portion of the material may be spilled as the material is poured into the refilling port. Or, an apparatus may be remotely located in a facility, in which case it may be difficult to carry a container containing material to the apparatus so that the apparatus may be replenished with the material. Thus, it may be desirable to provide a way for an apparatus to be replenished with material from a location some distance from the apparatus.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing, the effects of one or more of the problems set forth above.
In one aspect of the present invention, a filling system is presented. The filling system includes a container, a cap for the container defining an egress and an ingress for a material from and to the container, respectively, a tank in fluid communication with the container through both the ingress and the egress of the cap, and means for urging the material between the container and the tank through the egress and ingress of the cap.
In another aspect of the present invention, a cap for a container is presented. The cap includes a cap base engageable with the container and defining an inlet port and an outlet port, an inlet coupling in fluid communication with the inlet port, a draw tube, and an outlet coupling in fluid communication with the draw tube.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, a method is presented including engaging a cap with a container, coupling a first end of a conduit with the cap, coupling a second end of the conduit with the cap, and transferring material between the container and a tank through the conduit.